Mets agree to Santana deal, pending extension agreement  —  The Mets have agreed to a trade with the Minnesota Twins to acquire Johan Santana for four prospects, pending the left-hander working out an extension with New York.  —  The Mets have been granted a 48-to-72 hour window to work out a new contract with Santana.

Yanks draw assist in giving Johan to rival  —  This was late Monday night, about 12 hours before the Mets would pounce upon their most dramatic trade in recent history.  Twins' general manager Bill Smith, in a panic to move Johan Santana, called the Yankees and admitted surrender: Phil Hughes was no longer a prerequisite, he said.

Twins have met their match for Santana  —  There was a moment in December when the Red Sox thought they were close to consummating a deal for Twins lefthander Johan Santana, the two-time Cy Young Award winner who with Josh Beckett would have formed a potentially historic 1-2 combination at the top of their pitching rotation.

So Long, Johan … The early days of this blog were filled with a “Free Johan Santana!” campaign that urged the Twins to move their young left-handed phenom into the starting rotation.  After Santana spent the majority of four years in the bullpen and another half-season at Triple-A …

Santana Return Not Enough For Twins  —  With a full no-trade clause and the right to walk away as a free agent after the 2008 season, Johan Santana was able to exert more control over his destiny than most players ever could dream of.  After trade rumors swirled around him throughout the offseason …

TRADE COULD MAKE AMAZIN'S BEAST OF EAST  —  With Johan Santana aboard, Billy Wagner believes the Mets can now be classified as one of the best five clubs in the entire sport.  —  “What we lacked last year going into the season was that excitement and I think this truly puts us back into that top five …

With Santana, Mets's Minaya Outdoes Himself  —  Some baseball operators know many small things, and some know one big thing.  The general manager of the Mets, Omar Minaya, knows one big thing — if you can afford it, you always go for the best player on the market.

METS DEALT A WINNING 'HAN  —  SUPER METS PULL OFF A GIANT DEAL  —  When Red Sox officials flew to Nashville in early December for the Winter Meetings, they were convinced the Yankees would land Johan Santana because of a willingness to include Phil Hughes in an offer.

Lawyer: Andy may spill juice on Roger  —  TERI THOMPSON, NATHANIEL VINTON AND MICHAEL O'KEEFFE IN NEW YORK AND CHRISTIAN RED IN WASHINGTON  —  When the Congressional committee examining the findings of the Mitchell Report finally does talk to Andy Pettitte, one focus of the deposition …